This is interesting. Pretty crazy to see how much the market has dropped since 06. Obviously the economy had something to do with it but it also seemed like it was around that time when boats starting getting insanely priced… which pushed the prices to where we are at today… through the roof.

This is interesting. Pretty crazy to see how much the market has dropped since 06. Obviously the economy had something to do with it but it also seemed like it was around that time when boats starting getting insanely priced… which pushed the prices to where we are at today… through the roof.

I bet you will find that it was about the time that the residential real estate bubble burst and folks were unable to finance toy purchases out of their homes.

Wonder what their finances are truly looking like. Hope they r not struggling and this is a sign of them fighting to stay in business. They employ a lot of American workers in Tennessee and it would prob hurt their local economy. Just seems odd with malibu and axis that they couldn't remain privately owned. Are their any other reasons that they would want to go public? Taxes, health care mandates, etc? On a side note I just purchased a new Malibu and definitely want them around and want to keep my warranty

the owners/executives want to cash out as opposed to selling, they want to raise capital to expand or meet their commitments or even to acquire other businesses, incentivize or attract workers by letting them become partial owners through stock grants, ego...

going public has its drawbacks too. your books have to be opened to the public and regulators, lose some control as shareholders' interests have to become a priority, someone could acquire enough shares to take the business over (if the owners don't retain ownership percentage)

A chance for employee ownership. This can create better accountablilty and transparency for the industry. They are not struggling, have you seen the market share increases noted in the SEC filing? Market Share of 23% in 2008 and now 32.9% as of October 2013. The 2nd brand in the industry is currently with 19.7% market share from 23.8% in 2008. These figures are on page 2 of the prospectus summary. Malibu is the strongest it has ever been and is still innovating creating the most profitable boat builder in the tow-boat segment.

I know not everyone reads financial statements but answers to the above are in the SEC filing. Malibu is doing quite well, thank you. In fact, with just a cursory look so far, I'm blown away by the margins these guys are getting. 26.1% gross profit margin and 10.1% on net income for last fiscal year. First quarter this fiscal year net income margin up to 12.0%. Damn!

Malibu is the strongest it has ever been and is still innovating creating the most profitable boat builder in the tow-boat segment.

Well, except for their # of units produced that is.

They definitely have good margins and that's what a shareholder would expect and want even more. So how will the consumer benefit from them going public when a shareholder wants a return on his stock? My main concern is that once they go public they either raise the price even more or have to start cutting some corners to maintain those margins. Only time will tell, hopefully it's all positive for them as a company.

...
The table below sets forth certain information concerning outstanding equity awards of Class M Units of the LLC as of June 30, 2013, which will be converted into LLC Units upon the consummation of the offering. Holders of Class M Units have the right to participate in distributions by the LLC but do not have voting rights.
...
Long-Term Incentive Plan
Our board of directors plans to adopt the Inventive Plan prior to the effective date of this offering for the benefit of the employees, directors and consultants who perform services for us. Awards granted under the Incentive Plan may consist of restricted stock, stock options, performance awards, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, dividend equivalents and other stock-based awards. The Incentive Plan will limit the number of shares that may be delivered pursuant to awards to shares of our Class A Common Stock.

The CEO currently has 264,141 shares of Class M Shares that will vest on Feb 1, 2014. Malibu claims that the value of those shares is $52,828 or $.19 each at this time. So if they move forward with the IPO and he is holding all of those shares, will they be worth $.19 each? I guess it's possible or maybe I am misreading the prospectus and if I am, I apologize.

Malibu is owned by a number of private equity firms I believe - ti was recapped in the mid-2000's. An IPO is for three reasons - Private Equity to get their money back plus their return, employees/investors to get their return and money to grow the business.

I haven't read the filing but if the numbers of the CEO are correct and they go out at $8-10 (minimum) that CEO is making some bank. That $.19 is likely the strike price after recap.

Malibu is owned by a number of private equity firms I believe - ti was recapped in the mid-2000's. An IPO is for three reasons - Private Equity to get their money back plus their return, employees/investors to get their return and money to grow the business.

prospectus does say they'll use proceeds to pay down debt (around $64M), pay Malibu Boat Investors LLC $3.75M, and to purchase LLC units from the existing owners (these are listed on pg 114 and includes investors as well as directors, executives, etc).

If I were seriously considering buying the stock (not really), the question would be, can such margins continue to increase or even be maintainable? Where is the price limit? (Many of us have been wondering this anyway.) Also, such margins bring competitive pressures.

The prospectus ties to make a point that the performance boat sales market trends look promising having dropped from near 13,100 units per year in 2006 to about 4,850 in 2011 (a decimating 63% drop market sales - as we all know, the industry got crushed) but are now trending up. The question is, how much volume can the industry get at such current sky-high unit pricing? The economy is doing better, but not that much better. Unit volume will also get tougher as interest rates rise. It'll be a while before we see 10,000+ unit sales in the industry again.

I glanced over the filing and picked up on the basics but am far from a financial wizard. Not surprised by the IPO move since an equity firm's sole mission is to show a return on its investments. I would imagine the goal in this case is to cash out as opposed to raising capital.

One question, I was under the impression that Malibu has been an employee owned company from day 1 in the form of an ESOP. Is this still the case? If so, I hope current and past employees interests are represented and their shares aren't diluted to nothing.

26.1% profit margin is awesome for any industry and any company. Couple that with the 22-30% dealer cost to MSRP and you now know what it costs to make the boats. Looking at the numbers I'd say about 40-45% of MSRP.

If they go public as far as I know, they will be the first tow boat company to do so. People always wonder about the financial numbers of this industry, this will take all the mystery out of that.